World History Homework Seven Answers - Student Two

1.The Renaissance occurred approximately from 1300 to 1600. It began in Italy but spread to most of Europe, though it took longer to reach northern Europe- it ended there about 1700. The Renaissance was a rediscovery of classical Greek and Romanculture, combined with Christianity. The high point of the Renaissance was the 1500s.

Correct.

2.Martin Luther was an Augustinian monk in Germany. He was primarily angry about the selling of indulgences for money to build the new St. Peter’s Basilica, but he had some other related doctrinal disagreements with Catholicism as well, which prompted him to post his 95 Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. This is almost universally recognized as the catalyst for the Reformation.

That was the history: there is debate to this day over what Luther really did, as in, what he accomplished. To Lutherans and almost all subsequent Protestants, Luther once again introduced Christ, not the Pope and his false and far-reaching authority, to the center of the Church. To Catholics, Luther divided, not reformed, the Church by rejecting doctrines going back to the Early Church, and accomplished little except fracturing the once undivided Church of Christ into warring, and often partially erroneous sects.

Superb, balanced analysis. May use as a model!

3.The Baroque style was a painting style that developed in the mid to late 1500s and early 1600s as part of the Catholic Counter-Reformation. It was mastered by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Peter Paul Rubens, and Annibale Carracci. Rather than portray idealized figured, Baroque used more common figures painted in a more realistic fashion. Baroque, as did much of Renaissance art, focused on human subjects in religious environments and is thus part of Renaissance humanism, which was actually Christian. It wanted to make Christianity more accessible to common people, introduce greater spirituality, and win back Protestants to the Catholic Church.

Excellent.

4.The history of English is roughly divided into three periods: Old, Middle, and Modern English. Old English was derived from Germanic languages, because Germanic tribes inhabited England. Old English emerged in the late 400s and ended with the Norman Conquest of 1066. After this, Latin was imported and Old English was enriched and improved, evolving into Middle English. Middle English lasted until about 1500, when it became modern English, the language of Shakespeare and Milton. However, many changes have still taken place, so that “modern Modern English” is still somewhat different than original Modern English.

Excellent again!

5.Civilization in Korea may go back thousands of years BC, but during the Renaissance/late Middle Ages period, Korean dynasties were as follows: The Silla Dynasty (668-935) allied with the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618 to 907) and ended the Three Kingdoms period in Korea, unifying it for the first time. Much of present Korean culture developed during this time. During the collapse of the unified Silla Dynasty rule, there was a brief period of disunity known as Later Three Kingdoms, from 892-935. The Koryo dynasty took over Korea in 935 and ruled until 1392. Laws and civil service developed during the Koryo Dynasty and the first metal moveable type printing press was created. The Koryo Dynasty finally ended because of the Mongols. The Chosin Dynasty replaced the Koryo Dynasty and lasted for several hundred years.

Terrific.

6.One reason the Renaissance occurred in Europe was that Asia had not yet been Christianized, nor did it possess Hellenic culture. There was not such a divide between old and new in Asia. Another reason is that Asia was experiencing more conflict during the Renaissance, while Europe had experienced its major conflicts (especially the Crusades, and earlier the fall of Rome) before the Renaissance- the fall of Rome set the stage for a much later cultural revival, and the Crusades ended feudalism and introduced Eastern culture, both of which led, in different degrees, to the Renaissance.

Europe had (chronologically) great culture (Rome), rather depressed times along with the silent growth of Christianity (Middle Ages), conflict expanding the worldview and facilitating cultural borrowing and the revival of faith (Crusades), and finally the culmination of all of them (Renaissance). Asia, on the other hand, had oscillating periods of conflict and peace, with cultural developments all the time, but never concentrated in one single period.

Superb, may use as a model. Terrific wikifying also!

7.There are so many politicians and salesmen to choose from! But let’s pick, for example, Henry Paulson, who insisted that a bailout was necessary, and outlined how it would work, and then weeks later changed the plan with no input from the people, and said that the bailout might not even have worked! Or Obama, who, while telling crowds in Ohio that he might renogociate NAFTA, had a campaign worker telling Canada that he wouldn’t really renegociate it at all. Or Timothy Geithner, who in between proclaiming plans has no real details. However, it’s often hard to tell if we’re dealing with Machiavellian deception, or just plain incompetance.

Fantastic answer, which gave me a good laugh. I particularly like you conclusion. May use this is as a model ... after fixing your misspellings of "renegotiate" and "incompetence", and "Geither". Well done otherwise!

Honors

1.The English language is perhaps the most diverse language in the world. It borrows heavily in content and to a lesser degree in structure from Greek, Latin, and Germanic languages, and it contains hundreds of words from Romance languages, Arabic, and other languages. It is not especially heavy or technical, but it can be used to explain reasonably well complex scientific and religious concepts. Because of its alphabet, English speakers can easily create new words and names, making English easy to expand, or even import new words into. Chinese, the language of another great economic force in the world, is not this versatile, and could inhibit growth of China. English is also relatively easy to learn once the alphabet is mastered, and is easy to use in the electronic and technology age.

Terrific, model material also.

3.I’ll have to be honest here and say that I disagree with the Reformation and its rationale. Certainly indulgences were abused- they should not be sold, and they are not supposed to forgive sins either; they are simply a replacement for penance which would be performed in Purgatory, after the sin has been forgiven by God alone (through Confession). But for Luther to renounce doctrines that the undivided Church had accepted for centuries makes no sense. For example, I simply can’t understand “Sola Scriptura.” Jesus came to earth with revelation, not with a New Testament in His hand. Most revelation was written, but other parts of it were passed down and protected by the Church. Thus, the dual source of revelation (Scripture and Tradition) were always recognized. Nor do I understand Faith Alone, for the fact that the undivided Church always taught faith and works. It seems as though Luther believed there was no true and pure Church until he came to save it. It sounds almost like Mormonism- disliked by so many Protestants- which believes it is the restoration of the Early Church. Basically, Luther threw away the doctrine that the Church is a single authoritative institution, guided by the Holy Spirit. This is what the undivided Church believed, and what the modern form of the once undivided Church- the Catholic Church- still believes, while non-Catholics are splitting up at alarming rates, unable to agree on what the undivided Church decided before Protestantism was even born.

You make a strong and forceful argument. That's what good advocacy is: pick a position and argue it without apology or equivocation. You do it well here.

7.I don’t believe we should innundate people with Hell, because so many people are close to leaving religion. I think we have to bring them back with the message of love and mercy that Christ taught. But above all else, we have to teach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And Hell, whatever we may think about it, is certainly part of the truth. Teaching the Gospel necessarily commands teaching Hell. In the Great Commission, Christ did not say, “Teach them all that I have commanded you, except for Hell.” In fact, He said that few will make it through the narrow gate. In short, we must teach the mercy and love of Christ, but also what happens when we reject it.

Excellent, except teaching about Hell may bring people back. Jesus certainly taught about it often, perhaps more than even about Heaven. When He started there was only one Christian. Now there are over 2 billion, with most of the growth occurring while Hell was still taught.